1932 Ford Coupe - September 2012 Early Iron

2/7Inside the three-window a Billet Specialties half-wrap steering wheel mounts to a tilting column (also from Billet Specialties). A custom console houses a B&M Quicksilver shifter as well as the stereo system and the controls for the air-conditioning system.

1932 Ford Coupe

Simi Valley, California

The history of this car began in Oregon, but Mike Laska, from Simi Valley, California, bought it at a Reno’s Hot August Nights event from a gentleman who had started the project and nearly completed it. There were several problems the original owner was facing (the motor wasn’t running right and there were some major problems with the car’s braking system), and Mike believes he just decided to sell the car rather than finish it.

Mike says though there are a lot of Deuce roadsters near where he lives, he doesn’t see too many ’32 coupes, and he’d fallen in love with their looks. His also says his wife, Diane, wouldn’t allow another car in the garage unless he got rid of one, so he sold one to make room. Mike looked for six months, but most of the cars he’d found on different cars-for-sale websites were based on the East Coast.

That’s about the same time a friend invited him to attend the Hot August Nights event and Mike found the car there. The coupe is based on a fiberglass body that was purchased from Downs with a 3-inch chop and mounted on a TCI Engineering chassis. The front suspension is polished, and the three-window rides on 17x7 Centerline Dagger wheels up front and 20x9.50 Centerline wheels out back, with all four wrapped with BFGoodrich g-Force T/A tires that give the Deuce the rake Mike likes. Disc brakes can be found on each corner, too.

3/7Jon Lind did the upholstery in the car, which included a black leather and snakeskin combo used on the bench seat, door panels, and headliner. The same pattern and materials were laid out in the trunk, too.

The hood and side panels are steel and made by Hagan, and the coupe was painted in 2009 with PT Cruiser Tangerine Pearl paint.

Under the hood, a 350 Chevy motor (with Brodix aluminum heads, aluminum roller rockers, a COMP Thumpr hydraulic cam, and a Pete Jackson quiet geardrive) is topped with an Edelbrock ESP Performer Polished intake manifold and a single Edelbrock 600-cfm polished carburetor. A polished aluminum Hilborn-style air scoop helps directs air into the engine, and the 350 is cooled with an aluminum radiator from AFCO (which utilizes a polished shroud, an electric fan, Cool Flex hoses, and a stainless polished overflow tank).

The stainless steel Flowmaster mufflers and the Patriot headers are part of the 2.5-inch exhaust system that has been ceramic-coated. Other engine accessories include a 105-amp Power Master alternator and a lot of polished aluminum parts (including the water pump, engine pan, flywheel cover, and engine pulleys from March) as well as ones finished in chrome (master cylinder and booster, fuel pump, motor and transmission mounts, and a high-output mini starter).

4/7The Downs ’glass body was painted with a Tangerine Pearl found on PT Cruisers from 2003, and the rollers are a 17x7 and 20x9.50 Centerline Dagger wheels wrapped with BFGoodrich g-Force T/A tires.

The transmission is a TH350 and is equipped with a shift kit, a 1,500-rpm stall converter, a B&M Quicksilver shifter, and a polished aluminum transmission cooler with stainless lines. All of this bolts to a polished aluminum driveshaft that is connected to a Currie 9-inch (3.55:1) rearend.

Inside the coupe a Flaming River polished stainless tilt steering column was used with a half-wrap aluminum steering wheel from Billet Specialties, and Lokar supplied the brake and fuel pedals while TPI-Tech Instruments gauges were installed. The bench seat, door panels, headliner, and trunk were all finished in black leather (with snake highlights) by Jon Lind, and the power windows from Specialty Power Windows can operate remotely via a Hotronics transmitter.

5/7Under the three-piece Hagan hood is a 350 Chevy that is highlighted with either chrome or polished aluminum parts and pieces. The Hilborn-type air cleaner feeds a single Edlebrock carb, and the Patriot headers are ceramic-coated, as is the rest of the exhaust system.

Mike says in his youth he had several cars he wishes he still owned (a ’66 Mustang, ’63 split-window Corvette, a ’68 Chevy Chevelle, a ’69 big-block Corvette, and four Porsches), but he is happy with his Deuce coupe and the way it turned out.